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Wout has put on 10 kilos since last spring. He may have a hard time getting over the bergs with the lead group. He is suffering bad right now trying to keep up with MvdP in the CX races.

That may be what he has said to justify his lack luster (relative to him obviously) cx performances as of late. From the video coverage I've seen of him recently it sure doesn't look like he has added 10 kilos to me! Maybe someone has seen him in person or at races and can comment on my comment .

In the CX races I've watched online he looks pretty thick next to MvdP and Toon Aerts. Who knows, it may be all muscle like he insinuated but you still feel that extra heft up the hills and accelerating out of corners.

It's only november guys . Van DerPoel dominated the last 2 or 3 CX season starts, and pretty much all season long too. Didn't prevent Van Aert to peak at the right time. Read all the comments about this or that guy being overweight in february for the early road races

We'll see in the spring.... anyone knows what's his spring agenda ? Will he race the CX Worlds or focus on road events even in february and start at Omloop Het Niewsblad ?

not a fan of either Van Aert of VDP. am I bad?
and it looks like VDP will smash the mtb too. dont like that

What's not to like about MvdP? He got it all, highly skilled, multi-talented and likes to ride offensive. While at the same time he doesn't come over as an arrogant guy.

I agree with Rondje. What is not to like about a dominant athlete in a sport ? You're not bad pastronef, just jealous , I am too, but I like both of theses guys. I can't say the same for some roadies though.... More seriously, as spectators we enjoy a more balanced spectacle between battlers. In individual sports such as CX and MTB, the more talented and skilled athletes will dominate from end to end if they stay healthy, look at Shurter the last 10 years. In a team sport like road cycling, there are a few more factors on the line. You can't just dominate by talent alone, you need a strong team also.
That's also why people tend to hate whole teams in road, not just riders .

It's only november guys . Van DerPoel dominated the last 2 or 3 CX season starts, and pretty much all season long too. Didn't prevent Van Aert to peak at the right time. Read all the comments about this or that guy being overweight in february for the early road races

We'll see in the spring.... anyone knows what's his spring agenda ? Will he race the CX Worlds or focus on road events even in february and start at Omloop Het Niewsblad ?

Louis

MvdP doesn't peak...he's good all year with the occasional off day race. He's wins on Road, MTB, and CX from January to December. There is not a more complete cyclist in the world...fact!

It's only november guys . Van DerPoel dominated the last 2 or 3 CX season starts, and pretty much all season long too. Didn't prevent Van Aert to peak at the right time. Read all the comments about this or that guy being overweight in february for the early road races

We'll see in the spring.... anyone knows what's his spring agenda ? Will he race the CX Worlds or focus on road events even in february and start at Omloop Het Niewsblad ?

Louis

He first has to find a team in order to get his road events in place. So far Jumbo reacted by saying they will be careful and have to read the full UCI report/verdict before taking the chance.

It's only november guys . Van DerPoel dominated the last 2 or 3 CX season starts, and pretty much all season long too. Didn't prevent Van Aert to peak at the right time. Read all the comments about this or that guy being overweight in february for the early road races

We'll see in the spring.... anyone knows what's his spring agenda ? Will he race the CX Worlds or focus on road events even in february and start at Omloop Het Niewsblad ?

Louis

MvdP doesn't peak...he's good all year with the occasional off day race. He's wins on Road, MTB, and CX from January to December. There is not a more complete cyclist in the world...fact!

And then it is said that he rides without a real trainer and training program. If that's true the progress he might be able to make can be insane.

It's only november guys . Van DerPoel dominated the last 2 or 3 CX season starts, and pretty much all season long too. Didn't prevent Van Aert to peak at the right time. Read all the comments about this or that guy being overweight in february for the early road races

We'll see in the spring.... anyone knows what's his spring agenda ? Will he race the CX Worlds or focus on road events even in february and start at Omloop Het Niewsblad ?

Louis

MvdP doesn't peak...he's good all year with the occasional off day race. He's wins on Road, MTB, and CX from January to December. There is not a more complete cyclist in the world...fact!

Ah, so what. Have you seen him win any events on the velodrome? I haven't. Have you seen him winning anything in artistic cycling or cycle ball?

On a serious note, I completely agree. MVDP is a massive talent. Everyone talks about WVA's move to the road as the big thing but I think MVDP is the bigger talent and will, ultimately, make the bigger impact on the road if he heads that way. I hope he doesn't burn himself out by competing at such intensity throughout the whole year.

Rumour from Italy is that Pozzato would have support from Wilier to create (or sponsor an existing one?) a Continental team and continue one more year.
I bet Pissei and Ursus might be involved as well.

Two-time champ Richie Rude and one-time champ Jared Graves have both confirmed to Pinkbike that they tested positive for Higenamine (banned in and out of competition) and Oxilofrine (banned in-competition) at the third round of the series in France. They say that their failed tests were due to accidental ingestion.

Two-time champ Richie Rude and one-time champ Jared Graves have both confirmed to Pinkbike that they tested positive for Higenamine (banned in and out of competition) and Oxilofrine (banned in-competition) at the third round of the series in France. They say that their failed tests were due to accidental ingestion.

AAF is similar to the Froome case. Riders can make a case as to why they tested positive and why they shouldn't be penalized.

I wonder if anyone knows what the penalties would be anyway? EWS isn't a UCI series, the riders aren't part of the WADA testing pool, and the tests carried out were on a sort of ad hoc basis - it was up to individual events to decide if they wanted to contact their national ADA to carry out any testing. What does that mean for sanctions? If the AAF is upheld and it leads to a ban, would Richie* just have to skip the French rounds but could compete elsewhere? Apparently EWS is standardizing doping controls with the UCI for next year, but I don't know if that means a positive from this year will be treated the same as if it happened to a UCI rider.

* Jared Graves has bigger things to worry about right now. Talk about getting kicked when you're down